Can People Heal From Trauma?
Fifty percent of brain development occurs after birth (Putnam, 2004) and continues to change over the life span (Doidge, 2008 & 2015). Studies have shown that the impact of trauma can be repaired (Siegel, 2012; Cozolino, 2006, 2010, 2014; Banks, 2014). But first, we must meet a person where they are to help get them on the path to healing.
The Three R’s of Successful Trauma Resolution
Reenactment
Before the healing journey begins, people are experiencing reenactment: a ‘stuck place’.
Reenactment means the person is reliving the trauma in the present moment.
It’s not a choice.
It feels like the trauma is happening all over again. This means that the brain is actually reliving the trauma event, in the present moment. Their “thinking brain” is offline, and what they say or do during reenactment comes from the part of the brain we don’t have conscious control over.
This is why reenactment can cause “acting out behaviors,” as they are often labeled. When these actions are being expressed, this can be a very lonely and frightening place. It may look like they have gotten some relief, but in fact that person is caught in the trauma of the past and reliving it in the present moment. They are just as frightened as they were when the event happened, and they don’t feel safe.
When we can meet a person at this stage by understanding what happened to them, we can help them begin their path to healing.
Re-experience
Depending on how we respond to someone’s reenactment, a person can re-experience, or process their trauma, in a realistic way.
As a support person, we can be present without judgement or criticism while someone has the space to feel whatever levels of pain, anger, loss, or other emotions are elicited by a detailed memory of an event not from a place of being alone - but from a place of connection. When we can offer this empathetic presence by reflecting the emotions we’re experiencing from a person (not diving into the content) the person will not feel irrationally responsible for having caused the event.
Release
When we honor what a person has done to survive, we allow their brain to release the trauma from the central nervous system and put it in the memory center of the brain - where it belongs.
A person can:
Live life without feeling compelled to relive or repeat the traumatic event either consciously or unconsciously.
Define their life without the trauma being the central organizing piece of who they are and how they live their life.
Reorganize
Once the trauma is released, you are aware that the trauma has happened in the past, but it is no longer experienced or seen as a clear and recurring danger in the present. You are no longer devastated by the event. Your brain is freed up to decide what you want for your present and your future, and you can begin to connect with people in safe ways.